Breathe deep
by Lady Jenna
Summary: Marion had a life before David and Karl came to Dinotopia, and now a piece of it is in her life again.
1. 1

"Breath Deep"

By: Lady Jenna

"Why are you in such a hurry?" David asked as he and Karl followed Marion through the streets of Waterfall City. She made her way through the crowd quickly with David and Karl in tow, with 26 quickly trying to get her bulky frame through the mass of people. 

"There's some one I want you to meet," Marion told them. David ran into a tall man dressed entirely in black. David fell onto his back and the tall man helped him to his feet.

"Sorry about that," he said.

"No problem," David said somewhat weary about the man. The man gave him a smile and walked past him and into the crowd. 

"David hurry up!" Marion told him and he obeyed her.

"So who is this person anyway?" Karl asked her as he patted 26 on the back. By now 26 had grown so much she almost reached Karl's shoulder. 

"Oh an old friend of mine. We used to play together as children. It's been at least a year since we've seen each other," Marion explained smiling widely.

"This should be interesting, then…" Karl said with a mischievous smile on his face. 

"Marion do you know who that man was?" David asked her trying to see the man even though he disappeared into the crowd. 

"Who?" Marion asked.

"That guy…" David said.

"Try being more specific Dav- hey! 26!" Karl yelled as 26 ran out into the crowd away from them. Karl ran after her and David and Marion stood still and watched him.

Karl had no trouble following the path through the crowd that 26 left. He was a bit worried of what or whom she'd run over. She was getting big now and didn't seem to realize it. He heard a yell of surprise and found 26 nuzzling the shoulder of some one wearing a long brown cloak standing next to a yellowish Stenonychosaurus.

"26," Karl said accusingly as he gentle moved his friend away from the person.

"I guess she likes you," Karl said as the person turned around and smiled at him.

"It's mutual then," she said to him as she lowered the hood of her cloak. She had long brown hair with two small braids coming down the sides of her head. 26 nudged her nose into the girl's leg and almost knocked her off her feet. The Stenonychosaurus helped her keep her balance.

"Sorry," Karl said as he looked down at 26 disapprovingly. 

"It's alright, he used to knock me over all the time," she said as she pointed backward to the Stenonychosaurus. The dinosaur looked a little hurt and surprised by the response.

"Hey I gotta go, um, bye," Karl said starting to walk backward to Marion and David.

"Good bye Karl," she said as 26 nuzzled her in the arm once more before joining Karl. 

David and Karl were sitting in chairs in the library with Marion pacing eagerly back and forth in front of them. Zippo had joined them and had scrolls laying on the table in front of him and 26, trying to teach her to read them. Karl seemed intensely interested with his feet waving back and forth in front of him on the ground, while David was staring blankly into a library shelf. He was thinking about the man in black, there was something he didn't like about him. There was something… off.

"Marion sit down please, you're giving me a headache," Karl said and she stopped and turned to him.

"I'm sorry, it's been so long since I've seem h-" Marion started but was interrupted by 26 abruptly galloping away and around a corner of the library.

"26!" Karl yelled after her. Zippo ran after her and the others joined him hearing him utter an "Oh my."

26 had run over to the same cloaked figure as before in the market place.

"Well what do you know," Karl said again moving 26 off of where she had the girl pinned.

"She certainly does seem to like me," the girl said and then looked at Marion, who was smiling.

"You've never been late before," Marion told her and the girl smiled.

"Sorry Marion, that was my fault. I needed some new buttons," the Stenonychosaurus said clearly. 

"Oh that's alright Earhart," Marion told him.

"Wait, you're the friend Marion hasn't seen for a year?" Karl asked the girl who nodded in response. Karl took a few steps backward and David took his place.

"Breathe deep," David said shaking her hand.

"Seek peace," she said in response.

"You called me Karl!" Karl said stepping back into the group waving a finger at her.

"I was wondering when he'd catch on to that," Earhart said smiling and nudging the girl with his elbow.

"It is your name, Karl Scott, and, David Scott," she said nodding to the both of them.

"I said we hadn't seen each other, I didn't say we haven't communicated," Marion said giving her friend a hug hello.

"It is good to see you again, Marion, how is your father?"

"He's better. And your mother, Amelia, how is she?" Marion asked her.

"She's better as well."

"Marion, uh, said she wanted us to meet you," David told Amelia.

"Yes, I wanted you to talk to them about how well some outlanders can adapt to Dinotopia," Marion informed her and Amelia nodded in understanding.

"My grandmother was an outlander and she married and gave birth to three girls, all of which have families here on the island," Amelia informed the boys. They both thought for a bit about it.

"Wait a minute. You're Amelia," David said pointing to her and she nodded, "and he's Earhart?" he finished and Earhart nodded in agreement. Karl was catching on to what his brother was getting at.

"Your grandmother was Amelia Earhart?" Karl asked her and Amelia looked surprised.

"You've heard of her?" Amelia asked them.

"Yea, she's a great mystery, pretty much everyone knows of Amelia Earhart," David told her and Amelia looked surprised. 

"Really?" she asked and David nodded.

"Is she still alive? I'd like to meet her," Karl asked her. Marion and Amelia shared a worried look.

"No, I'm sorry, she died a few years back," Amelia informed them.

"She was a nice lady, too," Earhart said sadly.

"She taught me a lot, before she died, of the out side world."

"Yes, Amelia is one of our foremost experts of the outside world," Marion informed them.

"I was most excited when I heard you two had arrived."

"Then why haven't we met you until now?" Karl asked her. She and Marion shared another worried glance.

"I've been otherwise occupied, I'm afraid," Amelia told them.

"Well you can talk to us now, if you like," Karl said and Earhart shoved Amelia forward a bit with a smile on his face.

"I haven't had time to prepare questions an-" Amelia started but Marion stopped her.

"And we have some things to talk about, ourselves," Marion said wrapping an arm around her friend's shoulders and walking away from everyone else. 26 trotted after them. Karl was about to yell after her but Marion and Amelia would take care of her. 

"Amelia Earhart landed in Dinotopia, that's cool," David said with a smile, "I bet this is actually the Bermuda Triangle."

"How did Amelia know I was Karl?" Karl asked more himself then David or Zippo.

"What?" David asked him. 

"Amelia, when 26 ran into her for the first time and I was walking away she called me Karl," he explained.

"So? Marion told her about us. I wonder what exactly she told her…"

"Yea but how did she know I was Karl? I could have been any guy with a Chasmosaurus."

"She might have seen you walking with Marion."

"How'd she know I wasn't _you_?" Karl asked and David fell silent for a bit.

"You're not going to push the subject on her are you?"

"Of course I am. I want to know why she knew I was Karl and not David."

"Maybe she figured since you were the one chasing 26."

"Yes but how did she know 26 was 26?"

"Maybe because you were yelling "26! 26!" " David said and Karl fell silent.

"I'm going to ask her anyway."

"Of course you are."


	2. 2

"How long has it been since you've been to Waterfall City?" Marion asked Amelia. The two were walking through an alleyway of Waterfall City with 26 following them. Amelia laughed as she tried to think.

"Awhile, certainly. Five, maybe six years. Oh! I was here the first summer after your father became mayor."

"Oh yes that's right. Things have changed since then."

"A lot of things have... So how do you intend to chose between them?"

"Between who?"

"David and Karl. Between you and your mother I know the entire story. You like them both, and they both _love_ you. Things between the three of you won't calm down until you chose one, or none. Though the idea of both isn't _entirely_ displeasing," Amelia said and Marion just glared at her. 

"I try not to think of either of them like that, actually."

"Oh poor Marion, sweet, sweet Marion. Too many men, too little time," Amelia said smiling.

"What?" Marion asked her also smiling.

"It's something my grandmother used to say. Though Marion, you _are_ coming to the age for marriage…"

"I know, but so are you friend," Marion said poking Amelia in the ribs. Amelia's smile disappeared. 

"Marion, you know I could never marry…" Amelia told her and Marion's smile vanished too. 

"I'm sure you could, if you find the right man."

"A man who could get past _it_?" Amelia asked her. Marion wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders. 

"Amelia you're a could person and a _great_ friend, a man would be lucky to have you for a wife."

"Or you. You've two candidates already. Let's focus on that, shall we? Now give me a list of pros and cons…"

"Oh don't be silly."

"Come on now, what are David's pros?"

"David? He's nice, and caring, and thoughtful, and responsible, and he's very, hmm, worried."

"And Karl, what are his pros?"

"Well Karl is brave, and daring, and, Karl is complex, do you understand? There's just so much to discover about him."

"From what I understand he's discovering things about himself recently too. What are Karl's cons?"

"He's headstrong, and too self reliant, and a bit selfish, but 26 is good for him. He's also a bit close minded, and-"

"That's enough, Marion," Amelia said with a smile, "and David?"

"David, David, hm, no. David he, no. He tends to, no… I can't think of anything," Marion said and Amelia just smiled at her friend. 

"So one can be a pain in the butt, and the other is pratically perfect, hm, tough choice," Amelia told her and Marion laughed. 

"Karl is so different though, he's unlike any man in Dinotopia."

"So is David, from what I've heard. My grandmother once told me a story of when she was young. There was this boy who was sort of troublesome in the community. He smoked and rode a motorcycle, whatever that it. All of the parents hated him, thought he brought nothing but bad things. And my grandmother fell in love with him," Amelia explained.

"Why?" Marion questioned her.

"My grandmother explained it like, like there was this deeply attractive thing about the "bad boy" image. Some sort of excite or thrill, I'm not sure. Maybe that's why you hold some sort of feels for Karl. And you might like David because he's loyal and caring of others."

"I don't know. This "love" thing is new to me."

"Well you were almost the first person they met in Dinotopia, maybe the two of them will meet more people and find a different girl to love," Amelia suggested.

"I hope so, I don't want either of them to get hurt," Marion told her. 

"I know Marion, I know."

David had been helping Zippo translate some text found at an entrance to the World Beneath for the past two hours or so and finally sto a stretch. He heard and felt his back crack in several places and yawned. Zippo watched him with interest feeling no fatigue himself. David walked over to Zippo's window and looked out at the marketplace in front of him. The sun was almost setting but the business had not lightened. Pretty soon the main sun stone would replenish all of the others. David's eyes searched the crowded marketplace. Sometimes the sight of man and dinosaurs walking together still amazed him. It was like living in an episode of The Flintstones. There was one figure David saw that attracted his attention more than any other. A tall man in black was standing in the middle of the crowd. He wasn't buying anything, he didn't seem to be standing there for any reason. He wouldn't have stood out so much if it wasn't for the one odd thing he was doing. He was looking directly at David. 

"Zippo I gotta go, I'll be right back," David said and rushed out of the door before Zippo could respond. 

Once he was outside, David never let the man in black out of his sight, and the man in black did the same. When David finally stood face to face with him, the man in black just smiled at him.

"Can I help you?" David asked him in a tone showing he obviously wasn't in the mood to actually help the man.

"Not yet. I can help you, though."

"How?" David asked him doubtingly. 

"You've made a new friend today. She's not telling you the truth, well, not entirely," the man said. David narrowed his eyes.

"Who are you?"

"A shadow, and nothing more," he said and began to laugh. He walked backward into the crowd and David followed him a few steps before stopping. The man was gone. 

" "A shadow?" What kind of answer is _that_?" Karl asked standing in front of David. It was morning and David had told his half brother of the events that had occurred the night before. David shrugged.

"I don't know."

"What I want to know is, what does he know about Amelia that we _don't_?"

"Maybe he's just a guy trying to stir up trouble."

"No, no, I don't think so David. I had my suspicions about her before but now I have _twice_ as many!"

"She's a friend of Marion's. Whatever we don't know about her can't be anything bad, right?" David asked him and Karl fell silent for a bit. 

"And 26 seemed to like her, and 26 tends to be a good judge of character…"

"See Karl, I'm sure it's nothing."

"Well I'm not so sure. I'm going to go find out," Karl said heading for the door.

"You're not going to do anything stupid are you?" David asked him.

"Maybe. Keep 26 here, will you?" Karl asked and left before David could object. 

Karl figured Amelia would be staying with Marion, and after a small conversation with a guard Karl found out exactly which room Amelia was sleeping in. Oddly, the door to her room was locked so he carefully, very carefully, climbed out onto the balcony of the room next to her's and onto her balcony. The drapes were drawn and he opened them enough just to see inside. It was dark and he was careful only to let enough light in so he could see. It was a good sized room and good sized bed. She was still asleep. He found the door and gently opened it just enough for him to step inside and gently closed it again. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the dimness before he moved, and when he did he went immediately for the bag resting at the foot of her bed. A few articles of clothes were already dangling out of the bag and he tried to leave it looking the same after he was done quietly searching it. He found nothing of any interest with the exception of a bra or two. 

Quietly he crept along the side of her bed to the small table sitting beside it. Amelia was wearing a loose fitting white night gown that everyone in Dinotopia seemed to wear to bed. She was hugging her pillow and had a silly little smile on her face. The only thing on the table besides a lamp was a necklace with what looked like ring, almost like a wedding ring. The wedding ring interested Karl a bit and he was about to pick it up for closer examination but Amelia stirred and yawned. Karl tucked and rolled under her bed, hoping she hadn't opened her eyes just in time to see him. He heard her yawn again and the blankets move. He heard the mattress creak and saw one foot and then another on the floor next to him. Then her nightgown fell down around her ankles. Karl clasped a hand over his widened eyes so he wouldn't be tempted to take a look. He heard her rummage through her back and get dressed. She finally unlocked the door and walked out. He waited a few moments after she left before crawling out from under the bed. The wedding ring was gone. He grumbled slightly as he crawled out and nearly slipped on her nightgown. He didn't even think of people in the hallway when he opened he door. He came face to face with Earhart as he came out of the room opposite Amelia's. Earhart looked shocked to see him and Karl just waved, laughed slightly, and walked down the hall, not looking back.


	3. 3

"I think she's married," Karl told David. They were in Zippo's house again and neither of them noticed Zippo watching them from around the corner.

"Married?" David questioned him. Karl shrugged.

"Yea."

"Wait, why do you think she's married?"

"She had a, a ring, around her neck," Karl said indicating on his own body where the ring would fall.

"A ring? So? Lot's of unmarried people have rings."

"Yea, but this one looked like a wedding band."

"Okay, say it was a wedding band. If she were married at all why wouldn't she tell us?"

"Maybe she's running from him or something"

"If she was running away from her husband, why would she be wearing the ring?"

"Um…"

"And why wouldn't _Marion_ tell us? She trusts us."

"Um…"

"And does Amelia _look_ like the married type?"

"Oh I've seen more of her then you'd think."

"What?"

"Never mind. So okay I guess she's not married. But there is something up with her…" Karl confessed.

"I still don't know why you think there's more to her than she says."

"Need I remind you of Mr. Shadow?"

"No, no. But I still think he was just trying to make trouble. He seems to have succeeded at it too." 

"I didn't trust her before "Mr. Shadow." Which reminds me, what exactly did this guy look like?"

"Uh, tall, black hair, dark eyes, tanned complexion, all in black…"

"Maybe he's her husband…" Karl said and David sighed in embarrassment. 

Marion and Amelia were walking down a hallway in Marion's father's manor. Earhart passed them walking quickly in the opposite direction. Amelia half-listened to what Marion was saying and half followed Earhart with her eyes.

"So he's going to speak to the Senate about it next week," Marion finished, "are you alright?"

"Huh?" Amelia asked looking back at her friend, "yes I'm fine. Is it just me, or has Earhart been acting _oddly _today?"

"Earhart?" Marion asked and looked behind her even though Earhart was out of sight.

"He keeps glaring at me suspiciously."

"Have you asked him why?"

"I would, but I'm afraid I might not like the answer…"

"Would you like me to ask him?"

"No, that's alright, thank you. I'll find out something."

"Marion! Marion! Oh Good, Amelia too," Zippo yelled running after them.

"Breathe deep, Zippo," Marion said.

"Seek peace, Marion."

"Why the hurry?" Amelia asked him.

"Oh, oh yes. Marion, your mother has requested your presence, at the Hatchery."

"Is there anything wrong?"

"No, she doesn't think so. She's found something and wants you to look at it. She wants Amelia, Karl, David and I to accompany you as well."

"Does my father know?"

"Earhart is telling him now."

"Alright, we'll leave immediately. Go tell David and Karl, will you, Zippo?"

"Yes, of course I will," Zippo said and left them.

"Is this something we should be worrying about?" Amelia asked her.

"No use worrying until we figure out what exactly is going on."

"Yes, you're right, of course."

The Scott's had moved into a small house just on the brim of Waterfall City. From their house it was only a fifteen-minute walk to market place and Zippo's house and a five-minute walk to the bus station. So everyone was meeting there to board the bus for the Hatchery. Karl had just finished packing his bag and wasn't looking forward to having to say good bye to 26. Earhart and Karl's Dad promised to take care of her, but Karl still didn't like leaving her. Part of him would miss her. A big part, actually.

Karl walked out of his room and into the room dubbed as "the game room." It was called such because that's where Karl had set up a ping pong table. Zippo was getting better, but Karl could still beat him easily. Karl was surprised to find Zippo and Amelia playing a nice and slow game. Karl grinned and placed his bag on the ground.

"_You're_ teaching her how to play ping pong?" Karl asked Zippo questionably. Karl took Zippo's place and his paddle.

"Well actually…" Zippo started.

"_I'll_ show you how to play, Amelia," he said and served her a nice and easy one. She smashed it so quickly Karl had trouble seeing it. He stood there in shock and looked at her. She smiled and shrugged.

"Grandma," was all she said and he grinned. He bent over and picked up the ping pong ball.

"All right, let's play," he said and was about to serve when David stuck his head into the room.

"Time to go," he announced so Amelia and Karl set their paddles down and Karl grabbed his bag.

"Do we know yet what your mother wants us to see?" David asked Marion as they rode the large dinosaur. They were riding through carnivore country in the woods; the driver and his assistant were keeping a good eye out for anything. Marion shook her head.

"All your mother said was, she found something extraordinary and she wants your opinion on it," Zippo told Marion.

"They why'd she want us to come along?" Karl asked him.

"To keep Marion, company, I suppose…"

"And me?" Amelia asked him.

"Your mother probably misses you," Zippo said and Amelia smiled. Karl and David looked at each other.

"You live at the Hatchery?" David asked her.

"_By_ the Hatchery," Amelia corrected him.

"You can see the Hatchery from her house," Marion said. 

"And my house from the Hatchery," Amelia added. Karl snapped his fingers with a look of realization on his face.

"_That's_ how you knew I was Karl! You saw me at the Hatchery!" Karl said incredibly happy with himself. Amelia nodded. 

"Yes. You finished my jigsaw puzzle," she told him and he laughed. 

"Why didn't you ever say "hi?" " he asked her. Marion and Amelia glanced at each other.

"I was purely on a survey mission," Amelia responded. 

"A what?" David asked her but she never got to answer. The driver stopped the giant dinosaur and told all of its occupants to climb down the ladder and hide.

Once their feet were on the ground everyone could feel the rhythmic beating of the earth. Zippo, Marion, David, Karl, and Amelia ran out into the woods and hid in some brush. Beating of the earth got stronger and the sound of giant footfall echoed through out the forest. 

"T-Rex?" David asked Marion in a whisper. She nodded with a worried look on her face.

"Where is it?" Karl asked her too in a whisper. She was about to answer but the giant carnivore roared loudly directly behind them. The roar deafened the sounds of their yells of surprise. Zippo, Marion, and David ran off in one direction to get away from the carnivore while Karl grabbed Amelia's wrist and they ran another. The T-Rex ran after Karl and Amelia. 

"Where are we running?" Amelia asked Karl in between breaths.

"Away!" was all he answered her as the giant dinosaur hunted them down, shaking the ground with every step. Karl and Amelia both looked back in shock at the giant monster teeth close to tearing them to shreds. It would have been better for them to look forward because in one stride they flew off the side of a giant cliff.

Amelia clung to the rocky wall about twenty feet away from the top of the cliff. She was hanging on with all of her might and looked below her for any sign of Karl. The first thing she noticed was that she couldn't see the bottom of the cliff, she couldn't see the ground. The next thing she noticed was about 30 feet below her. It was a piece of large rock jetting out from the wall like a platform. She saw Karl's arms and head on top of it, he was dangling on it, holding on for his life like she was, and only her feet had placing. Amelia looked from side to side, still seeing nothing but rocky wall. She looked up and saw the giant carnivore stretching his head down the side of the cliff watching her. His teeth were getting very close to her. He got so close his breathing filled her ears and blew her hair and clothes. He cocked his head from side to side looking at her. He breathed heavily again and the force almost blew her off the wall. She knew he was going to eat her. He just had to lean forward one more foot to grasp her head in his incisors. But he didn't. He lifted his head away from her, stood up straight, and walked away with ground shaking steps. Amelia made small laughs of relief and wonder in between her panicked breathing. She had no idea what just happened.


	4. 4

"Amelia! Amelia!" Karl yelled up at her. Amelia looked down at the platform Karl was hanging off of. He couldn't hang on forever. Amelia took a deep breath and very carefully climbed down the rocky wall to the platform. She carefully inched herself over to Karl; the great height of the ledge was getting to her.

" "Away" he says!" she said as she wrapped her hands under his arms.

"Just help me up," he said as the two pulled and pushed Karl until he was safely on the ledge. They both sat there, catching their breath and rubbing their arms.

"Damn," Karl said looking around and seeing nothing but rocky wall in every direction but up. 

"Yea. Did you see what happened up there?"

"You mean when we ran off ledge?" he asked her questionably.

"No, when I was hanging on up there."

"Oh. No."

"He sniffed me."

"What?" Karl asked her raising an eyebrow.

"I thought it was going to eat me, and he could have, but he sniffed me, stood up, and walked away."

"So what, you smell funny?" Karl and her and she shrugged.

"I don't know," she said and they sat there in silence for a few moments. Karl sighed and looked around again. He looked behind him and stood up.

"Hey look," he said. Amelia looked background at him and stood up. The wall connected to the ledge looked different than the rest of the wall. It looked like the pieces of rock had been, placed. Karl grabbed a piece of rock and pulled it out. A lot of the rocks above it fell too and rolled off the ledge and disappeared. Karl and Amelia pulled all of the rocks away to reveal a passageway through the rock. Karl and Amelia looked at each other and then down the dark passageway. Karl reached into his pocket and pulled out a sun stone fragment that lighted the passageway. He smiled at her and led the way.

"Where'd you _get_ that?" she asked him but he didn't answer. 

Marion, David, and Zippo were back in Waterfall City. They were in Zippo's house and had maps of Dinotopia spread out on all of the tables. They had sent word to Marion's mother about what happened and that they were unable to come see her. Marion was looking at a map of the area where Karl and Amelia went missing. They had looked for a few hours for them with no luck. David was wearing his Skybax riding uniform and was standing in front of a few other riders. Their bus driver was standing over the map as well.

"I hate to tell you this," he said, "but from what you say about the direction they were chased in, it sounds like they would have run into the Tenax Cliff."

"Tenax Cliff?" David asked him.

"The Tenax Cliff is the largest cliff in Dinotopia. At the top you can't see the bottom and at the bottom you can't see the top," the driver told him.

"It's five mile long, it'll take forever to search," a Skybax rider said.

"Yes well, we will…" David said and left the room, followed by the other riders.

"I've sent out five message birds to look for them," Zippo told Marion and she nodded in response.

"We will find them, alive," Zippo told her worriedly. She looked up at him and smiled.

"I know Zippo, thank you," she said. She looked down at the map in front of her once more before looking up and seeing Earhart quietly looking out the window into the market place. She left the maps and walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder for support.

"How are you doing, Earhart?" she asked him. He looked back at her and forced a smile of his face.

"I'm a bit ashamed of myself, actually," he confessed.

"What for?" she asked him worriedly. 

"I'm worried about her. I shouldn't be, she can take of herself," he said and Marion smiled.

"And she's not alone…" she reassured him.

"Oh yes… What if he sees the…" he started worried about the idea.

"Then Amelia will handle it. Relax, it'll be alright," Marion told him and he nodded in agreement.

They were on their second mile through the passageways. Karl was in the lead lighting the way and Amelia followed him closely. Besides their footsteps the only sound was the running of some distant water and the dripping of condensation off of the cool rock.

"Karl," Amelia said and he stopped and looked back at her.

"What?" 

"Look," she said and pointed down to his calf. He looked down and saw a cut on his leg that was bleeding onto his sock.

"What do you know?" he said as he lowered the sun stone to get a better look. Amelia kneeled down and unwrapped a long strand of cloth she had wound around her calf and wrapped it around his cut.

"We can clean it if we ever find where that water sound is coming from," she said as she tied the knot and stood up.

"Thanks," he said and they continued farther down the passageway. 

"Is it odd that there've been no passageways leading off from this one?" Amelia asked him.

"You're the one who's lived in Dinotopia all your life…"

"Yes but I don't live on the underside of it."

"Do you think this leads to a way out?"

"I certainly hope so…"

"Maybe it leads into the World Beneath," Karl said with a smile.

"You sound like that's what you want."

"It's cool there."

"It's what?" she asked him but he never answered her. They passageway opened to a giant cave. There was a waterfall on one side that flowed around the rim of the cave with plant life growing by its banks. In the cave was what look like a town of houses made from stone. The town had long since been abandoned and desolate but houses must have been in near perfect conditions. At the top of the domed cave was a huge sun stone, lighting the cave like a sun. 

"Whoa…" Karl said in amazement. He put his sun stone away and the two carefully climbed down to the town.

David stood near the edge of Tenax Cliff with Free-Fall at his side. David was looking out at the clouds he could see forever in front of him. A skybax rider landed behind David and dismounted. They walked toward each other and the rider gave him her report.

"We've combed the length of the bottom of the cliff and all of the towns by it with in walking distance. No one has seen them. There's a small ledge about fifty feet down from the top about a mile East of this position."

"That's about where they were chased," David said enthusiastic about it.

"The ledge is too small for a skybax to land on so we've sent for some ropers to climb down and check it out. It appears some rocks have been moved to reveal a passageway into the cliff."

"Good," David said smiling with hope that the two might be all right. The rider cleared her throat. 

"Some pilots have also said that a red substance has been seen on the ledge. It might be blood…" she told him and his smile disappeared. 

"How long until those ropers get here?" he asked her seriously. 

"Their ETA is one hour."

"Let's hope they find them…" David said and looked out at the clouds again.

Karl and Amelia walked through the vegetation on the outer rim of the cave until they came to a stone bridge which crossed the stream made by the waterfall. Karl crossed first to test its safety and Amelia followed him.

"This looks like corn…" Amelia said as they walked through more plants. They reached the closest house to them and carefully opened the old wooden door. Inside was a wooden bed frame with an old mattress made of some durable grass, a stone table, a few wooden chairs, and a giant wooden bowl set in a stone basin. The next house was exactly the same only moved around. Karl walked over and sat down on the grass mattress. Amelia ran her hand across the back of a wooden chair.

"This is incredible," Amelia said.

"The legends did say people used to live in the World Beneath…" Karl pointed out.

"Yes but this, this is…" she said.

"Incredible?" he finished for her and she nodded smiling. Her smile faded as she turned to him.

"Karl. Aren't all of the ways to the World Beneath guarded by carnivores?" she asked. He returned her worried glance.

"But we hav-" he said but was interrupted but the head of a dinosaur came through the door of the house roaring and biting with its giant jaws. 


	5. 5

The Matriarch stepped off of the bus platform and stood still for a few moments, looking around at Waterfall City. In her arms she carried a crate just big enough so she could carry it by herself. She felt better knowing she was the one carrying it, not that she'd distrust someone else with the precious cargo, she just felt better carrying it herself. She found Zippo's house quite easily and smiled when she saw her eldest daughter through the window. She knocked on the door and Zippo answered. His face revealed that he was quite surprised to see her there. 

"Matriarch?" he asked surprised. She smiled at the kind dinosaur.

"Breathe deep, Zippo," she said and she passed him and entered his home.

"Yes uh, seek peace…" he said getting over his initial shock and closing the door behind her,

"Mother?" Marion asked, equally surprised to see her there.

"How goes the search, Marion?" the Matriarch asked noticing the red marks all over the map laying on Zippo's table. Marion looked down at the map then back at her mother.

"We fear they may have fallen at Tenax Cliff. A ledge and passageway have been found, though. We are hopeful," Marion responded and the Matriarch nodded her head.

"They are there, I know it," she said convincingly. Marion smiled, reassured in her hope. 

"What brings you here, Matriarch?" Zippo asked setting a tray of tea down on the table by the map. The Matriarch sat down in a chair at the table, keeping the crate in her lap. Marion sat down too and poured three cups of tea.

"My request to see you was a bit urgent, and I would not expect you to leave your post, so I brought what I've found to you," she answered. Marion looked at the crate in her mother's grasp and wondered what it contained. 

Karl had leapt off of the bed and now he and Amelia had their backs against the far wall from the door. The dinosaur's snout came to an inch away from them, enabled by its shoulders on the outside of the house and a short neck. Its jaws grasped the bed Karl had been sitting on and banged it back and forth on the side of the house until the bed frame was nothing but splinters of wood. The dinosaur stretched and wrangled its neck, trying to get its jaws close enough to clasp onto their flesh. When it couldn't reach them it moved in every direction as if trying to destroy the house. Through the roaring and destruction Karl and Amelia heard a whistle, which the dinosaur obviously heard too. It ended its attack, removed its head from the house, and left. After a few regaining breaths Amelia and Karl opened their eyes and looked at each other.

"You okay?" he asked her. She nodded.

"What do we do now?" she asked him.

"Stay here," he said enforcing it with his hand. Carefully he stepped around the debris and over toward the door.

"Are you crazy!" she yelled to him in a whisper.

"Stay there!" he repeated the command, also in a yelled whisper. He stuck his head carefully out of the doorway, and then his torso. Amelia yelled in surprise as two claws came down and grasped onto Karl's shoulders and picked him up into the air.

"Karl!" she yelled and ran to the door. She took a few steps outside before claws came down and grasped her shoulders too. They pulled her up into the air and she could see Karl being carried away in front of her. The dinosaurs swooped around beams of rock and through a large arch that led into an area smaller than the first cave but just as high. There was a bigger waterfall at the far end and a small stone island in the middle of the small lake the waterfall formed. The island was joined to the rock by a long stone bridge which Karl and Amelia were dropped onto. They stood up and looked at the island where their appeared to be a chair, almost a throne. The man sitting in it stood up and walked over to them. As he got closer distinct features could be seen. He had waving blonde hair, a handsome face, a good build and a noble walk. He also had yellow eyes, sharp, claw like finger nails, and scales on the tops of his arms and coming up his neck and on his face a bit. He smiled when he saw them, but smiled mostly at Amelia.

"Welcome home," he said to her.

The Matriarch set the crate up on a table and pried the lid off. Marion, Zippo, and Earhart peered into it eagerly. It was a dinosaur egg wrapped in straw with a sun stone laying next to it to warm it. The Matriarch carefully pulled the egg out of the crate and held it gently in her arms.

"An egg?" Earhart asked questionably. The Matriarch nodded smiling and looking down at the egg. Marion studied it carefully.

"What type of dinosaur will come from it?" she asked, not recognizing it. The Matriarch looked at her daughter pleased.

"That's it, we don't know. No one has ever seen a dog like this before, and look," she said as she rotated the egg so they could see the other side. On the egg was a small design made of circles and lines.

"What does it mean?" Zippo asked her.

"We don't know. Samantha found the egg in a wooden, airtight capsule laying on the beach. It was surrounded by a type of yellow moss no one can identify."

"Was the design drawn on or is it there naturally?" Earhart asked her.

"It looks drawn on, but no one can be too sure," the Matriarch answered them.

"Impossible," Zippo said already retrieving books from his collection and searching through them, looking for the symbol.

"Have you got something, Zippo?" Marion asked him.

"Just a distant memory. That symbol looks familiar," he answered as Marion opened another book and started searching for the symbol as well.

"The ropers have arrived," a Skybax rider told David. David nodded and walked after the rider to where three people were preparing to climb down the side of the cliff to the ledge. Three others were helping them with their tying and so on. They looked like the mountain climbers from the rest of the world, only with no nylon. The three ropers carefully made their way down the side of the cliff, David's hope growing as they descended. The lead roper reached the ledge first. He stood on the ledge before unbuckling his strap. Suddenly the ledge gave out under his weight and he grabbed a hold of his rope before he fell with it. The other two ropers helped him secure himself again before then climbed back up. The lead roper was just a little guy, did wasn't even Karl's size, or even Amelia's. There was no way it'd fall out under him and hold Karl and Amelia. They hadn't landed on the ledge, David decided and his heart sank again once into worry. 

"What!" Amelia and Karl demanded from the man at the same time. He laughed at their surprise and his laughter echoed through the cave. Karl's first thoughts were of Mr. Shadow, and Amelia's secret. Was she from the World Beneath? Was she lying about Amelia Earhart landing here?

"What are you talking about? Who are you?" Amelia demanded from him. The man grinned.

"I am a shadow," he said with a glance at Karl who's eyes opened wide, "and a god," he added and Amelia and Karl both looked at him questionably.

"Okay…" Amelia said. 

"I am called Valde, I am a god, so are you," he said pointing to Amelia. She started to laugh, while Karl was just a little unnerved. 

"Me? A god? Yea right. How could _I_ be a god?" she asked him laughing. Valde walked over to her, spun her so she was facing way from him, and lifted up the back of her shirt.

"Hey!" she yelled in not enough time for him to stop. Karl narrowed his eyes, concentrating his vision on her back. It was a strip of, of scales along the center of her back, from her neck to her hips. He found himself walking over to her and running his hand down them. They were scales. Amelia was silent, she just looked at the ground sadly. Karl looked at Valde who was just grinning. 

"I'm sick," Amelia said softly, "have been for as long as I can remember. They're from the disease. I'm the only person who has it. There is no one else."

"Oh you're not sick!" Valde said spinning her around to face him and Karl again. Amelia wouldn't look at Karl. 

"You have scales?" Karl asked just to verify it. She nodded. 

"You're not sick, Amelia, you're a god! At least half a god," Valde told her. 

"Stop it! Okay! Stop it!" she yelled at him and he grinned.

"Tell me, Amelia, who is your father?" Valde asked her. 

"What?" she asked him.

"Who, is, your, _father_?" he repeated.

"His name was Levo, he was a miller," she responded and he smiled. Valde turned around and walked back toward his throne. 

"Forty years ago, the first ruler of this Kingdom knew he was soon going to die. After being abandoned by all but a few dinosaurs, he collected clay from the riverbank. He made it in the shape of a man, half human, half dinosaur, and he gave it life. This new god began to show an interest in the Outer World, and the first god questioned if he was a good heir. So the first god took more clay, and created another man, half human, half dinosaur, and gave him life. The first creation now felt no obligation to this place, and he made his way to the Outer World. While there the first god died and the second creation took over the land. The first creation married a human woman, had two children with her, and left. I am the second creation, the first creation, was named Levo," Valde explained and turned around to wait for her response. Karl was still too shocked to do anything, and Amelia was too shocked to speak.

"Your older sister, had scales," Valde said walking closer to Amelia again. Amelia's eyes began to tear.

"She wasn't sick, only I'm sick," Amelia said.

"What happened to your sister?" Valde asked her.

"She, she slipped. And, she fell, into the river," she said as tears fell down her cheeks. Valde moved his lips close to her ear.

"She jumped," he whispered.

"No!" Amelia shouted and flung her fist into the side of his face, almost knocking him over. He quickly regained himself and slapped her across the face. Karl came out of his daze and punched Valde in the jaw. Valde fell over so Karl turned to see if Amelia was okay. She was holding her cheek in more shock then pain. Valde got to his feet and ran at Karl, the claws on his hand open wide. Valde stabbed his nails into Karl back by his right shoulder and Karl cried out in pain, falling forward when Valde retracted his hand. Amelia caught Karl and cringed at the sight of the five bleeding holes in his back.

"You disgusting mammal!" Valde yelled at him, "take them away!" he yelled and the two flying dinosaurs swooped down and picked them up again, causing Karl to yell in pain. 


	6. 6

"Our riders have searched the entire spread of the cliff, there's no sign of anyone," a Skybax rider told David. David nodded like he wasn't heart broken inside. He had to find his brother, for himself and for his father. And he had to find Amelia, for Marion. There had been no luck tracking down the T-Rex, no luck on the cliff, or the villages at the bottom of it. No luck, no bodies. They had to be somewhere. The ledge wouldn't have supported them, so their being in the passageway was impossible. Plus it grows pitch dark ten feet it, they wouldn't dare try it. 

"The ledge that fell, was it found at the bottom?" David asked. The Skybax rider nodded to him.

"It was in quite a few pieces put we found it. The red substance was blood…" she said and David exhaled with worry. 

"Dammit Karl, where are you?" David asked under his breath.

The door to the house opened and a bucket filled with water was placed inside of the small house, and then the door was closed at locked again. Amelia walked over and picked up the bucket. She sneered at the guards on the outside she couldn't see, but wanted to sneer at them anyway. She carried the bucket over to the bed were Karl lay on his stomach. She tore off some of the wrap she had put around the cut on his leg and dipped it into the cold water. Karl had removed the shirt and the five holes on his back was an unpleasant sight. Amelia rung most of the water out of the cloth and set it on his back. He flinched in pair and dug his nails into the grass mattress. 

"I know it hurts," she told him with sympathy as she dabbed more water on his wounds. 

"You're a god…" he said. She frowned and squeezed some of the water onto the back of his head. He turned his head to face her angrily.

"I'm not a god. I'm sick. My father didn't leave, he died. My sister wasn't sick," she informed him. 

"You have scales…"

"I'm sick! Alright? I'm not nor shall ever be a _god_! So if you want me to continue helping you with your wound leave it alone," she yelled at him. Karl sighed and then flinched in pain a bit.

"He seems to think you are," he said.

"Yes well he's been living in this cave for too long."

"Thousands of years ago, in a place called Egypt, the rulers were thought to be gods themselves, even though they were just human."

"So?"

"So they had absolute power, no one questioned them, because everyone thought they were gods," he told her and they were silent. 

"Egypt, isn't that where those pyramid things are?" Amelia asked him. He nodded. 

Marion was still flipping through the pages of an ancient book, looking for the symbol on the egg. Every now and then her eyes would drift to the maps and she would wonder how the search for Karl and Amelia was going. She didn't want to worry, worrying wasn't going to help anyone. Besides there was enough worrying going on around here anyway, she had to be strong. What she wondered about David, and how he was doing. Marion sighed. 

"Do one thing at a time," she reminded herself and continued to look through the pictures and books, carefully looking for the design written on the egg. A waterproof capsule on the shore? How? _Why_?

Karl was sitting up carefully and Amelia unraveled the cloth from her other calf. Carefully and tightly she wound the cloth around his shoulder blade until the wound was well covered and the cloth ran out. She tied it off and asked him how he felt. He grumbled in reply and she smiled.

"You'll be weak for sometime," she told him as she walked over and picked up his shirt.

"I got the blood out, and I'm sure a tailor in Waterfall City can fix the holes flawlessly," she said giving him the shirt. She watched as he painfully put it on. He straightened it and rubbed his shoulder a little.

"So what do we do now?" he asked her.

"Well there are two guards outside the door, _no_ windows, and the only way out of this place we know is three miles to a giant cliff. And you're in no condition to climb up rock for 50 feet…" she said and he sighed.

"I don't like being "kept," " he complained. 

"I don't like being a god."

"Hey why don't you talk to these guards of ours. To them you're as much a god as _Valde_ is."

"I'm not a god, Karl."

"They don't know that."

"So what, you want me to go out there and start ordering them about? I don't know how to be a god."

"How much can there be to it," Karl said standing up, "you go out there, throw a few orders around, a few threats. They'll probably listen to you."

"Or eat me…"

"They wouldn't eat a god."

"Yes that's right. They'd eat you…" Amelia said and Karl's eyes widened a little.

"I'm spoiled goods."

"I don't even want to know what you mean by that."

David sighed preparing himself for what he was about to do. He was going to tell everyone that Karl and Amelia were gone. The entire Skybax patrol had been searching for days now. Up and down the cliff, for miles in every direction. There was even a patrol following different T-Rex's, looking for anything. He wanted to tell Marion, Zippo, and Earhart before he told his father. He thought he'd start off reminding them that the search was not going to end, it just won't be made so hopefully. He sighed once more before entering the room. The sight of the Matriarch surprised him for an instant.

"David, any news?" Earhart asked him hopefully. David held his hands behind his back and looked down at the floor. 

"Nothing good," he said and looked up at them, "they're pulling a lot of patrols off, not all of them, but a lot. The search isn't ending, it's just, uh, not quite as hopeful as it has been for the past few days."

"What? They, they _can't_! They have to find her!" Earhart said taking a few steps backward in panic. The Matriarch walked over and placed her hands on Earhart's shoulder, calming him. She turned to David.

"Marion mentioned a cave, with a passageway," the Matriarch told him. He nodded.

"Yes. We tried sending some ropers down put, uh, the ledge fell under one person's weight, it's unlikely if not _impossible _for them to be there," he explained. The Matriarch walked away from Earhart and over to David. She placed her hands on his shoulders.

"They are _there_ David, you must _find_ them," she told him with a caring smile on her face.

"How could you-?"

"They are there, just have faith," she told him and he nodded. He smiled briefly, hope reaching him once again. 

"I told the witch doctor I was in love with you. I told the witch doctor you didn't love me too. And then the witch doctor, he told me what to do. He said… ooo eee, ooo ah ah ting tang-"

"Will you stop singing that!" Amelia yelled. Karl was sitting on the bed and Amelia was sitting on a wooden stool on the opposite side of the room. They had been in the house for four days now and were getting on each other's nerves. Karl sighed angrily.

"I'm just trying to pass the time," he told her.

"Well pass it some other way. That song's getting on my nerves," she said. Karl thought about it for a few moments. 

"This is the song that never end-"

"Not that one either!" she yelled at him. He sighed again. 

"All right! You give me a song!" he told her. This time she thought about it. 

"There was a song that my grandmother always had stuck in her head. Oh what was it… Umm… Oh yes. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord, he is-" she started singing.

"The Battle Hymn of the Republic, by Julia Ward Howe."

"Yes that's it. She could never get it out of her mind."

"She wrote it at the beginning of the Civil War."

"The what? And what does "cool" mean? You keep saying it but not in regards to temperature."

"Cool, it's slang. It means like, neat, interesting, good. To be cool is a good thing," he told her smiling. 

"Oh. Now this Civil War thing, I think my grandmo-" she started but the door to the house opened and two dinosaurs walked in carrying spears. They led Amelia and Karl out of the house.

The end of their little trip was back to Valde's throne and the bridge. Karl and Amelia were shoved out onto the bridge and the two dinosaurs took guard at the entrance of the cave. Valde got off of his throne and jogged over to them with a smile on his face. Neither Karl nor Amelia were smiling. 

"I've decided to give you another chance," he told them like they should be pleased. 

"No thanks," Karl said. Valde's smile faded.

"Shut up, mammal! I was talking to Amelia," Valde said and walked over to Amelia, a new smile on his face.

"No thanks," she said. Valde narrowed his eyes and then burst out laughing.

"Maybe "chance" was the wrong word. "Command" fits better," he told her.

"She's not going to do anything for you," Karl told him.

"I'm going to do something for her," Valde said still looking at Amelia.

"What could _you_ possibly do for me?" Amelia asked him.

"Make you my queen," he said and Amelia and Karl broke out into laughter that echoed off the cave walls. Valde grit his teeth and grabbed Amelia roughly by the arm, she and Karl stopped laughing.

"You should be _honored_ to be the mother of my heirs!" he yelled at her.

"What "heirs?" If she has your kids then who will _they_ marry. Scaly butt over there?" Karl asked laughing and pointing behind him to one of the dinosaur guards. 

"That's where _you_ come in handy, mammal. My children will marry _your_ children."

"What children?"

"The children you will have."

"With _who_?"

"With her," Valde said shaking Amelia a bit. Amelia and Karl looked at each other in disgusted shock. 

"You're kidding. There's no way…" Karl said.

"You _have_ been living in this cave for too long!" Amelia said and laughed slightly.

"Either you mate with me and the mammal, or the mammal _dies_," Valde said pointing to Karl. The two guards walked over to Karl and held the blades of their spears near his neck.

"Wait!" he yelled and Valde and Amelia looked at him, "what if I beat you?"

"What?" Valde and Amelia asked him at the same time at the same tone of shock.

"What if I beat you?" Karl repeated.

"What could _you _beat me at?" Valde asked him in disbelief. 

"Ping pong," Karl answered with a smile.


	7. 7

"You understand the rules okay?" Karl asked. They had set up a ping pong table in the middle of the ancient town. Karl had explained the rules to Valde who now stood opposite him. They were going to play to twenty and the stacks were high. Valde was playing for his queen and the continuation of his bloodline, while Karl was playing for his freedom and that of Amelia's. Amelia was forced to stand at the sidelines and watch. She was very near fainting from worry. Worry of Karl losing, and worry of Karl's shoulder. Karl was hurt, he was weak. He was good but could he still be good after losing so much blood? Amelia was surprised he could stand let alone play. Why didn't he let her play? She's good. She's probably not as good as Karl is, but at this point _Karl_ isn't as good as Karl is. 

"I understand mammal now serve!" Valde yelled at him growing restless. He wasn't used to being challenged. Karl grinned at Amelia and then served the ball. Valde hit it quickly and Karl had to duck so it wouldn't take hit him in the face.

"Point for _me_," Valde said with a grin. Karl looked at Amelia with a worried look and Amelia looked back at him showing him the same. 

The score was 19 to 19, and Valde was serving. Valde still looked as fine as he did when the game had started. Karl was weak and sickly. He was short on breath and looked like he was about to faint from exhaustion. Amelia was ready to run over and catch him when he'd fall. He lost too much blood. He was hurt. Why did he challenge a god in the first place? Amelia's grandmother would say that Karl looked like "death warmed up."

"One more point, mammal, and I win," Valde said.

"One more point, freak, and _I_ win," Karl said, too exhausted to sound intimidating, but the anger in his voice was evident. Valde served the ball and Karl hit it back, all of his fatigue now disappeared. The ball flew back and forth for awhile, Karl hitting it every time with a pained look on his face. Valde smashed it hard and the ball just passed the table before heading straight to the ground. Valde knew there was no way Karl could get it, Amelia knew there was no way Karl could get it, _Karl_ know there was no way Karl could get it. But Karl got it. The ball flew past the shocked god and onto the ground behind him. Karl landed down hard on his right shoulder in the dirt. He was too tired and too exhausted to try and get up. Amelia shouted a cheer of surprised joy and ran over to Karl.

"Karl you did it! Oh goodness Karl you did it!" she told him and he smiled. Amelia tried to help him to his feet but she couldn't lift him. She sighed in worry and looked at Valde. 

"He won Valde, now take us home," Amelia told him. Valde glared at them angrily but snapped his fingers. Two flying dinosaurs swooped down, one picking up Amelia and one picking up Karl to make pained noises. 

Swiftly the dinosaurs swooped and tucked upward around columns of rock and stone. Everything was going so fast Amelia could barely keep her head on straight. Karl didn't even try. He just closed his eyes and tried to deal with all of the pain he was feeling. Finally they left the caves and soared high above the forest. Amelia was happy to have her lungs filled with fresh air again. The dinosaurs flew quickly to Waterfall City were they dropped the two of them by the city gates and flew off again. It was night but Karl and Amelia's eyes were already adjusted to the dimness. Amelia ran over to Karl and helped him struggle to his feet. He walked some and leaned on her some as they made their way through the empty marketplace. Carefully Amelia opened the door to Zippo's door, knowing he'd gladly welcome them. She was a bit surprise to see Zippo, Marion, Earhart, David, the Matriarch, 26, and a man she assumed to be Mr. Scott. They were all equally surprised to see her and Karl as well.

"Karl? Amelia?" David asked walking closer to them. Karl let out a pained laugh.

"Hey David," he said before losing all strength and collapsing to the floor. 

Karl had been moved into the room with two beds and a doctor had been called. David and Mr. Scott peered over the doctor's shoulder as he cleaned and wrapped Karl's wounds. The Matriarch had gone to the manor but Marion remained to learn of Karl's condition. She was pacing back and forth Zippo's front room, Zippo joining her. Amelia was leaned against the doorframe, watching the doctor from a distance. Earhart walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, telling her he was there. She turned away from the doctor and looked at him, placing one of her own hands on top of his.

"You gave me quite the scare," Earhart told her. She smiled.

"You didn't have anything to worry about, I can take care of myself."

"I know. Where were you two, any way?" Earhart asked her. Amelia motioned him to come closer so he did.

"The World Beneath," she whispered in his ear. He pulled away and looked at her with amazement. He was about to respond but the doctor emerged from the room.

"He needs some rest and a few good meals when he wakes up, and don't let him do anything strenuous until he regains all of his strength back. Good night," the doctor said tipping his hat and leaving. David sighed as he walked over to Marion and Zippo to give them a full report.

"You must be Amelia," Mr. Scott said to Amelia and shook her hand.

"You must be Mr. Scott," she said with a smile. He nodded.

"Listen, uh, I want to thank you, for taking care of my son like you did…" he told her.

"We took care of each other, Mr. Scott," she told him and he smiled. He nodded to her and walked away. Zippo stepped over to her.

"Where were you two?" he asked her eagerly. She laughed simply and walked away from him, not answering. Zippo then entered the room Karl was in and they heard Karl yelling at him to go away and Zippo obeyed. 26 then joyfully trotted into the room.

"Thanks, Zippo, for letting Karl stay here for a few days," David said to him.

"It's my pleasure, truly," Zippo reassured him.

"You'll come tell us if there's any change," Marion reminded him.

"Yes of course. Now the three of you look awfully tired, go rest. Karl and Amelia are safe, no worries," he said gently shooing them from his house and closing the door behind them. Zippo turned and sigh to Earhart. 

"I wouldn't mind a good nap myself, I- Uh oh," Earhart started to say but saw Amelia fast asleep on a bench.

"There's an extra bed in the room Karl's in," Zippo told him and left with a smile. Earhart walked over and carefully picked Amelia up. She didn't stir at all. He carried her into the other room, passing Karl in his bed with 26 laying by it, her head closer to the door then Karl's head. Earhart laid Amelia on the bed and removed her shoes, placing them on the ground by her. He turned around to leave the room but noticed Karl was still away and looking from him. Earhart cleared his throat. 

"I'd like to thank you," Earhart stated.

"For what?" Karl asked still a little weak.

"For taking care of Amelia, like you did," Earhart confessed and Karl smiled.

"We took care of each other, Earhart," Karl answered. Earhart seemed content with it left and the room, closing the door behind him. 

During the night Karl opened his eyes and looked across the room at Amelia, who was asleep. Karl closed his eyes and listened to the sound of 26's snoring. Amelia opened her eyes and looked across the room at Karl, who was asleep. So she closed her eyes and tried to block out the sound of snoring she heard from the other side of the room. Karl opened his eyes again to look at Amelia, and then she opened her eyes and looked back at him. They both sat up and smiled at each other. Karl carefully stepped off the bed and over 26's tail. He softly walked over and sat down on Amelia's bed, figuring she was having as much trouble sleeping as she was.

"Every time I looked over you were asleep," he said to her.

"Every time _I_ looked over _you_ were asleep," she said back with a smile.

"If we ever looked over at the same time we'd have been up ages ago," he said.

"I have a confession. I thought that was _you_ snoring," she said and he laughed slightly.

"No, 26 always snores."

"Earhart mumbles," she said and he smiled at her. She turned away from him and looked out through the small circular window that was letting the moonshine into the room. Karl looked up at it too. After a few moments Karl sighed.

"Who do you think she's going to pick?" Karl asked looking at her. She turned her head and looked back at him.

"Who?"

"Marion."

"Oh," Amelia said sadly.

"You think she likes David more, don't you?" he demanded from her.

"Karl I don't know enough to tell."

"That's a bunch of crap! You know more about what's going on than _I_ do!"

"I don't know anything until Marion makes up her own mind."

"But you think she'll chose David," Karl accused her. Amelia sighed. 

"Karl listen. First, before you get upset, think. If David had absolutely _no_ affections for Marion, would you still love her as you do?" she asked him and he narrowed his eyes angrily.

"Of course I would," he said sternly but with some wavering. 

"I don't know if I can believe you on that," she confessed. His eyebrows furrowed and he got off of her bed and stormed out of the room.

"Karl wait!" Amelia yelled after him, but he was gone. Amelia sighed and looked at 26 who was still asleep.

"Are all Outlanders like this?" she asked the sleeping giant. 

Karl grabbed a coat to throw over himself and his bandages before storming out of the house and into the silent marketplace. He breathed in and out strongly for a few moments, trying to collect himself. He looked up at the stars and the moon. He recognized the constellation Gemini. He huffed a few more times and looked around at all of the closed and dark stores and houses. He heard Zippo's door open and close and looked behind him to see Earhart of all things walking toward him. Earhart wordlessly stood next to him and looked up at the stars and moon too. He reached his arm up and pointed to a few gathering of stars.

"That's Mary," he told Karl, who was looking at him oddly. Earhart looked briefly at Karl and then back up to the stars.

"Well it's not _really_ Mary, but Amelia and I think of them as her, makes her fell closer to us," Earhart explained. Karl looked up at the group of stars he thought Earhart was pointing to.

"Who's Mary?" Karl asked him.

"She was Amelia's older sister, by two years. She was a very nice girl, looked more like their grandmother than Amelia does," Earhart explained. 

"She drowned, didn't she?" Karl asked and Earhart nodded. 

"Mary wasn't a very social person, she kept mostly to herself. But oh, Amelia idolized her. We would spend hours watching Mary, following her. She never complained. Amelia loved her so much. But then she slipped, and fell…"

"Earhart, did Mary, did she have scales?" Karl asked looking at him. Earhart turned and looked back. He searched Karl's eyes for a bit before answering.

"Mary and Amelia are very special. They're different from every one else."

"Amelia isn't sick, is she?" Karl asked him.

"She's sick as long as she believes she is," Earhart answered and the two fell again into silence. 

"Their father was special too, wasn't he?"

"Very much so… Karl," Earhart started making sure Karl was looking and listening fully to him. "Mostly, Amelia only does things when she thinks they can help. She knows you and your brother are torn between Marion, and that Marion is torn between the two of you. She doesn't like her friends to be torn."

"I know. But I bet she didn't say any of that stuff to David. Why would she think he affects my feelings for Marion? My feelings are stronger then that… aren't they?"

"Only you can know the answer to that one," Earhart said patting him on the shoulder and heading inside. Karl looked once again up at the stars and moon.

When Karl walked into the room again, he found Amelia sitting on the floor by his bed with 26's head in her lap. They were both fast asleep. Karl smiled and sat carefully down next to Amelia. He petted 26's head slightly but she was too asleep to notice. He then ran the back of his hand down Amelia's cheek. He leaned back, and fell asleep. 

****

See "Survival of All or None"


End file.
